Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.
US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Jessica Steinberg for today’s episode.
As US Secretary of State Antony Blinken nears the end of his term, he says mediators are very close to securing a ceasefire and hostage release agreement, something that hasn’t been stated in a while. However, Magid says a deal may only be finalized at the start of the new Trump administration.
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Magid also discusses other aspects of the deal being hammered out, including hostage families’ insistence that freeing only some of the hostages in a first phase will be a death sentence for the remaining ones.
Magid notes that Blinken placed the blame on Hamas for holding up a hostage deal for months in his recent interview with The New York Times — suggesting that the US never wanted to blame Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his positioning even when it frustrated the negotiating teams.
He also looks at a proposed $8 billion arms deal being prepped by the Biden administration that has to be approved by Senate and House committees. Magid says the deal aims to ensure that Israel has the arms it needs in the case of any further Iranian attacks.
Magid talks about the appointment of Morgan Ortegus as deputy Middle East envoy. Ortegas opposes Trump’s isolationist approach and he therefore didn’t offer a ringing endorsement of her appointment.
For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.
Blinken: We’re very close to hostage deal, it’ll be handed to Trump if not finalized
Blinken: After Oct. 7, I threatened to nix Biden visit if Israel didn’t let aid into Gaza
Biden administration prepping $8 billion arms package for Israel, including heavy bombs
Trump appoints Ortagus as deputy Mideast envoy, but admits he’s not excited about it
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ben Wallick.